


Marble

by leozenith



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, M/M, McGenji - Freeform, also featuring Sombra; d.va; lucio; reaper; and some others but they're not the main focus so, tw for death I guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 03:49:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8829340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leozenith/pseuds/leozenith
Summary: Jesse McCree has his name carved into a marble slab, and Genji forgets why he keeps returning to see it.





	

Genji Shimada had no idea why he was here.

The sky was overcast and puddles were everywhere, and the rows and rows of graves before him only made the scene more gloomy. There weren't many other people here, having been driven away by the weather. Even if there were people here, he wouldn't fit in with them, anyway. He had taken off his armor, and was dressed in a loose hoodie and jeans, but still wore his visor. To anyone who didn't know him, he just looked like an omnic. An omnic of an unfamiliar model, but an omnic nonetheless.

A family a few rows ahead of him, a man and a small girl, had both glanced at him earlier, curiosity written across their faces. He had waved. They had smiled and turned back. Now they were talking in low voices in a conversation he did not intend to eavesdrop on. It was enough to know that they didn't seem bothered by his presence.

Genji stared down again, at the headstone before his feet. It was a marbley, cloud white with Overwatch’s symbol emblazoning the top. Below it, in large text, was engraved the name, “Jesse McCree”.

Genji wondered how many people had visited this grave. Probably not many, given McCree been in Blackwatch, and had only joined the revived Overwatch months ago. Almost everything McCree had ever done for the good of the world would never be recognized by people who had not known him, and to an extent, those who _had_ known him but were not a part of Blackwatch.

Genji could imagine a few people besides himself coming here. Mercy, Reinhardt, Hana, Lucio, Ana, Pharah. Maybe even Torbjorn, if he was drunk enough. Jack? Genji thought for a moment. Maybe. Reyes? Considering his current form and his hand in the attack that had ended with Jesse dead, it was unlikely. If he ever did come here, it would be in the thick of the night, away from prying eyes.

Genji returned to his earlier question, stating at the headstone again. Why _was_ he here? A mission in America was not the reason. Maybe it was the way Ana had looked at him when she'd suggested he take a walk. They'd be in town ‘til at least tomorrow; Tracer was currently picking up another team and would come out for them soon. He had indeed been aware of the fact they were near the memorial site for US-born members of Overwatch, and now that he was here, he could only stare at the grave. What was one to do? Think about what Jesse used to be like? Or about what happened? Genji lifted his head, staring at the blue sky arching over him, thinking over the night Jesse McCree had died.

* * *

 It was a high-stakes mission to King's Row. A local anti-omnic group had obtained not only the help of Talon, but a large EMP device, and was attempting to destroy every Omnic below the city. Sentient lives were at stake, and not just Omnic lives. Any human with a pacemaker or on a life-support device was in danger. Winston had looked over the team, concern written all over his face. Most team members without a large dependence on technology were out on other missions, and there was no chance they'd be back before the attack was well over. He'd looked at McCree, Tracer, and Genji, specifically, and told them that if the EMP went off, they could be anywhere from disabled to dead. They'd each nodded their head. They’d each understood the risk.

Genji remembered the night sky of King’s Row, the glowing of the payload as he left it with his team and went behind enemy lines in an attempt to disrupt the Talon forces he was facing. Tracer was handling Widowmaker; it was easy to recall the automatic fire of the sniper's rifle and the fast, high-pitched stinging of Tracer's pulse pistols. He remembered D.Va’s warning on the radio that Reaper had escaped her again. He heard McCree’s drawl, casual yet focused and confident, assuring her that Reaper wouldn't be a problem, having been dissipated. It was unlikely he'd regenerate before the mission was over. Genji remembered Ana’s careful warning that he could be back before the battle was over, and heard Lucio respond that if he did come back, they'd be waiting for him.

They'd all grouped up (with the exception of Tracer, who was still skirmishing with Widowmaker) right in front of the main gate before the underground entrance, their group being the only thing that stood between Talon’s EMP and the hundreds of innocent omnics underground. They were waiting for the next wave of Talon agents when Genji caught sight of a flash of purple in front of him, and reached out to grab it; it was a woman with hair swept over one side of her head, the other side shaved with two glowing purple lines running horizontally across her head. She stared straight into his visor, her eyes shining purple in the faint light around him. No one knew who she was, but Genji knew she could be an agent of Talon, and was not about to let her go. She pulled on his arm, demanding release, and when he caught sight of her machine pistol he asked her who she was, and as McCree would say: everything went to hell.

She pulled away from him with surprising force and shouted in Spanish- _“Apagando las luces!”_ \- and suddenly, Genji thudded to the ground. Pain spread throughout his chest and he became aware that he couldn't feel or move any part of his body. He couldn't see anything, either, his visor having gone dark. He could hear, but barely. Seconds passed, feeling like hours, and Genji gasped for breath. He felt himself get lifted forward, and suddenly, he could see. Someone had opened his visor. McCree stared back at him, concern scrawled across his face as he called Genji’s name repeatedly. Ana threw her biotic grenade down, aiming carefully at Genji with her biotic rifle in an attempt to get him functional again. Lucio was collapsed on the ground, his prosthetic feet having shut down and his balance on his skates lost, as he frantically turned switches on his amplifier, trying to get it running again. D.Va was trapped inside of her mech, which had shut down.

Genji stopped looking around when he realized he'd lost his breath, and he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on taking air into his lungs. He was barely aware of McCree, hunched over him, as he tried to breathe and failed again, panic starting to take him over as he realized his efforts were completely fruitless. McCree seemed to sense his distress and pulled him closer, which helped nothing but Genji’s nerves.

The muffled sound of D.Va’s mech starting back up filled Genji's ears, and moments later, he could feel his systems kicking in again, his battle for oxygen finally over as he gulped down all the air he could. Warm, yellow light flooded the area as Lucio’s amplifier started up again and he amped it up, refreshing yet peaceful music spilling out around him.

It was working. Genji could feel his strength coming back as the calming, gentle pulses of Lucio’s music filled his ears. Feeling started coming back to his body; he could feel McCree’s right arm pressing against his back, and the heat from his chest. They were closer than Genji had thought. Well aware that the woman from earlier had gotten away, he tried to get up, but McCree didn't move to let him; the cowboy shook his head.

McCree held his hand against Genji's chest as he said, “Don't stress yourself. We’re next to the EMP. Think it got taken out along with our tech- it hasn't started up again. As soon as it's safe to destroy it, we're busting it up and getting the hell out of Dodge.” D.Va's MEKA was up and running again, and Genji could practically taste the tension in the air as she held her fingers over her defense matrix’s buttons. Ana had turned away, scanning the area for Talon agents and watching everybody's backs. Genji simply concentrated on breathing and flexing each of his limbs, leaning against McCree, who now wrapped around him with both arms fully functional.

After that, everything had happened at once. Ana cursed in a language Genji recognized but couldn't understand. D.Va had raised her defense matrix. McCree gasped, then fell over onto Genji, whose strength had finally fully returned. Genji looked down as Lucio yelled out, almost unintelligibly, that McCree had been hit. Genji didn't see where, at first, but he grabbed McCree’s shoulders and held him away, slightly, and he could see what Lucio was talking about, terror gripping him as he spotted red gushing out of a spot on McCree’s neck.

Ana turned around briefly to confirm Lucio's cry, and when she saw McCree, her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped in horror.

“Agent down! Jesse’s been hit!” Genji yelled, even though Lucio already had, as if saying it again would somehow fix the situation. He stared at McCree, heart beating fast, unsure of what to do.

Everything became a blur as Tracer's horrified voice came over the radio, her words barely understandable; Genji could tell she'd tried to stop Widowmaker, but couldn't. The sniper had gotten away. Ana told her to come back as soon as possible. The only reason Widowmaker would retreat was if Talon knew the EMP on the truck was useless now.

Genji could only listen and watch McCree in his arms, who was being tended to by both Ana and Lucio. Sirens blared in the distance, and Genji looked up, waiting for them to turn the corner. McCree shifted and Genji turned back to face him. Ana leaned back, a solemn look in her eyes. Genji looked down at Jesse, silently remembering he hadn't put his visor back down yet. The man in his arms stared up at him with his brown eyes, a defeated look on his face the likes of which Genji did not recognize. Genji felt Jesse’s hands press against his back, and they felt leagues weaker than Jesse's usual embrace.

Then, Genji understood. Jesse did not think that he could survive this. From the look in her eyes earlier, neither did Ana. Genji wondered how many precious moments he had left with Jesse, and surmised there were not many. Jesse hugged him tighter. Genji responded in kind, letting the smell of Jesse’s always-too-strong, musky cologne fill his nostrils, simply sitting there with the cowboy. He stayed there, past muttered phrases Jesse knew Genji couldn’t hear, past Jesse going limp in his arms, past the weeping of his teammates and himself, up until the ambulance came, and the paramedics rushed over, and Jesse McCree was pronounced dead.

* * *

 Genji stared off into the horizon, aware that he had been here for hours. The family in front of him had left long ago, and he was now one of the only people at the site. The overcast weather had faded and now a brilliant orange sunset was before him, the clouds reflecting the sun’s tangerine glory off as far as they could. Genji could not help thinking to himself that this was just like one of those movies McCree had loved so much, one that they had stayed up late one night to see because McCree had wanted to show it to him so badly, and he remembered the warmth of the blanket they shared and the laughter over a terrible pun McCree had made-- and that Genji had added onto.

Genji shifted his hands around in the pockets of his hoodie and smiled, and, suddenly--

_...Ah._

And with that, Genji Shimada remembered why he was here.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> you can follow me on twitter @claymorejunkie!


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